Colorado joined a lawsuit filed by states against the U.S. Department of Agriculture to attempt to force the restart of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Those benefits are set to expire on Nov. 1 due to the federal government shutdown.

That could leave 600,000 Coloradans — 10% of the state population — without the the SNAP benefits, according to some estimates.

Attorney General Phil Weiser announced on Tuesday that Colorado is suing the USDA and Secretary Brooke Rollins, along with 22 other attorneys general and three governors.

SNAP provides benefits to 41.7 million Americans at a cost of about $100 billion annually. According to the USDA, in FY 2023, adults aged 18–59 made up the largest share of SNAP participants at 42%, followed by children (about 39%) and adults aged 60 and older (19%).

The lawsuit noted that it’s the first time in history that SNAP benefits have been delayed since the program’s inception in 1939.

Weiser and others claimed the USDA has a $6 billion contingency fund, which could be used for that purpose. An agency memo said “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.”

The agency said it cannot use those contingency funds “because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”

NPR reported on Monday that this position differs from the agency’s shutdown plan, which states that “multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits if a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”

In joining the lawsuit, Weiser stated, “It is clear President Trump and his USDA are making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice to not fund the SNAP program during the federal government shutdown despite the availability of contingency funds. The government is legally required to make payments to those who meet the program requirements.”

Weiser said the lapse in benefits “will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap. It will affect school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating our students.”

The Joint Budget Committee is meeting Thursday morning to review a request from Gov. Jared Polis for $10 million to support food banks and pantries, instead of SNAP benefits, and to extend funding for WIC, the nutrition program for women, infants and children, which serves 100,000 Coloradans.

The source of those funds has not yet been identified, according to Mark Ferrandino, director of the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting.

The governor has also encouraged Coloradans to donate to food banks and pantries while SNAP benefits are at risk.

The USDA memo noted that any state that pays for SNAP benefits will not be reimbursed.

The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, said that suspending SNAP benefits is contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Where Congress has clearly spoken, providing that SNAP benefits should continue even during a government shutdown, USDA does not have the authority to say otherwise,” the lawsuit said.

The states joining the lawsuit plan to file a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, asking the court to restore benefits immediately.

The attorneys general in the lawsuit, in addition to Colorado, are from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. The governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania have also joined. 

This is the 40th lawsuit that Weiser, who is running for governor, has filed against the Trump administration.